Upholstery



Nov. 1, 1932. H. J. BURKART UPHOLSTERY Filed June 8. 1928 FIG 2 INVENTOR /HRRY d. z/RKHRT BY MAJ ATTORN EY5 assembly.

Patented Nov. 1, `1932 UNITED'STATS HARRY J. BURKART, OF KIRKWOOD, MISSOURI 5 UPHOLSTERY Application med June `a, 1928. seriai No. 283,815. l

In order better to indicate the advantages and objects of the present invention, a comparison may be drawn between the prevailing upholstering practice which involves a series of tedious, manual operations, `performed in sequence at the yupholstering shops,

. and my improved article which `may be practically automatically' formed at a place vof manufacture of upholstery materials. ,l As typical of the present art and practices, the process involved 4in upholstering [the back-frame of an automobile bucket seat, or auxiliary seat, may be taken Vas an'example.

` In most cases, the back-'frame of such'a seat comprises a pair of upright metal members, with one or more crossv pieces, supporting an Vassembly of springs. The upholstering is begun by cutting a fiber boardto the size and shape of the seat back, andtacking tabs of cloth to the top and bottom of the board.

These tabs are wrapped Aaround convenient portions of the spring assembly and the Inet-V al frame, and the loose ends are tacked to the fiber board. By this means the fiber board is held in position. A 7piece of cloth v of suitable width is then placed over the springs, and its edges ltacked to the fiber board. A layer of cotton batting. or other filler material is placed over thefront of the spring Additional strips of filler, are laid upon the sides and ends ofthe spring assembly. This isfollowed by placing an additional piece of fabric over all vof they filler material, the last named piece of fabric 'i being likewise tacked to the fiber board. A

sheet of cotton orfother padding material vis then mounted so as to cover the back of thek fiber board. The present practice is to cover the springsthe fillermaterial at the front and edges, the fiber board, and the back padding, with a finish cover formed as a slip, which is drawn over the entire assembly, and `sewed across its bottoni. v

My improved upholsteryl unit, hereinafter described, eliminates all of the above mentioned operations, as only a single step is necessary to install a completed cushion pad, a piece of liber aboard, and `the padding vfor the rear of the assembly, all of which are asv detailed description of my invention.

sembled and ready for the :immediate reception of the nish cover.

The improvements in'elimina'ting the-recited steps, a'nd' the improvedpfroduct there: by obtained,may be declared to constitute 55 the lobjects ofthe present invention. Other-" wise expressed, it is the object of this invention to provide a completely assembled unit,V

- adaptedas` a foundation'for cushions or up-V j holstery, which unit obviates separately sew' 60 ing and tacking together.v the componentr 'pieces of the upholstery, as well as eliminat ing'separate means, suchv as the tacked strips of cloth, for securing vsuch pieces to the rigid frame of the chair or other the upholstery is fitted.

Further objects and advantages of the inventionwill be apparent from the4 drawing, considered in connection with the following It will be understoodhthat the description herein set forth covers only a single'execu-` tional embodiment of this invention, andre` lates tofa particular application thereof. `It will accordingly' be understood that this in-` 75 vention maybe practiced with respect'rto a great variety 4of upholstered articles,l andv is not 'conined'in' its application to the upholstered elements of automobile bodies; nor is it applicable' only to upholstered pieces in 80 whicha spring. assembly is employed in connection with the upholstering material. Obviously, many changes may be made in the describedparts vand their relation, without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe if invention, as more particularly defined in the claims yhereinafter set forth.

Referring to the drawing, Fig. l is an eX- ploded view of a cushion pad of the envelope type, constructed in accordance 'with they m present invention, and showing the parts of theupholstery unit in perspective; Fig.l 2 is,

a central vertical section through the back'v of an automobile auxiliary seat, to which is applied a cushion pad of the envelope type, in accordance with the present invention,

Fig 3 is a side elevation of the cushionk pad article to which Y` is a section along line lr-4 of Fig. 3 and in which the thickness of the fabric is somewhat exaggerated, in order to more clearly show the relation of the parts of the assenibly.

Referring by numerals to the drawing, the assembly consists essentially of a cushion or pad, indicated at 5, and intended in the present example to be placed on the front side of the vertical back portion of an auto'- niobile bucket seat. On the rear surfaceiof the baclr portion, it is preferred to provide a comparatively stiff or rigid element 6', which may consist of liber boaid, or the equivalent', to serve as a reinforcement to hold the pad in position, and to determine and preserve the shape of the unit. To provide a yielding surface for the fiber board, a padding element such as 7, may be mounted as shown. By the present invention, the cushion or pad 5, the fiber board 6 and padding 7 are manufactured and applied asa unit, and the parts of this unit are so related as to form an opening or space 8, of substantial size, inside the completed unit, (seeV Fig. 4). The recited parts are furtlierso related as to form an envelope, opening at its lower end into thev space 8, so that the enclosure may be drawn over the frame members and related portions of the structure to be upholstered. A. finish lslip 9, open lat its lower end, may then be placed over the unit, to form a completely upholstered seat back. In lieu of forming an envelope consisting` of cushion 5 and fiber board G, the envelope may consist of aseparate piece of fabric, say of the form of the fini-sh slip 9, to the inside or outside of which is'secured the cushion 5. lf desired, a padding such as 7, ni-ay also be secured to the fabric, either ins'ideor outside thereof. With suchla construction, the fiber board or its equivalent may be attached to, or carriedby the chair back; or such a device may be employed where the chairis of such construction that the liber board is not required. 1

Although the particular type of seat-back shown in the example illustrated, forms no part of the present invention, it may be mentioned that such a structure usually consists of a seat base 10, to which is affixed a metal frame 11 consisting of a pair .of side members so pivoted as to permit the seat back to be folded downwardly, and provided with yan upper cross piece of arcuate form so `as to impart the desired curved outline to the seatback. Between the upright members of the frame 11, there is usually and preferably disposed a spring assembly 12,- consisting of any desired number of coil springs 13. .As shown in Fig, the described envelope, or enclosure, consisting of the upholstery unit, is so formed as to enclose a part of the frame 11, and spring assembly 12.

By preference l construct the cushion or padelement 5, of afront fabric 14 and a back fabric 15, both of which are cut to substantially the same outline and sewed togetherthepadding for the upper edge or margin of the chair back, (see Fig. 2). ln order to prevent the filler material from shifting inside the cushion, after a period of use, it is preferred to quilt the cushion as may be found necessary according to the filling inaterial employed..` ln the example described, the cushion 5 is quilted as shown at 18.

The element 6, described as fiber board, inay consist of any suitable,y comparatively rigidl or stiff material, of athiclnessnot too great to preclude sewing theother elements U thereto along the seam line 17. ireavy pasteboard, or other material may be used.

The padding 7, positioned next to back of the fiber board inav consist of a suitable J thickness of filler material, preferably hav-A ing a covering of tobacco cloth or the like. W here desired, the rear padding 7 may be glued or otherwise adhesively secured to the fiber board. Y f

The construction and application of the described upholstery unit is thought to be apparent from the above description of parts and their relation. The fiber board isi'cut to conform in size and shape to the seat bach to be upholstered; upon the fiber board is laid the piece of padding material, such as7, which may be Vglued in place if desired. The padding 7 and fiber board are then securely sewed to the cushion or pad 5, along the seam lines indicated at 17. This sewing is preferably eifected in a single operation, and secures the recited elements together near their margins, except at the bottom, which is left pleted unit to the chair back, or'other structure to be upholstered. 'lhe resultantunitary, open ended upholstery-structure forms an envelope of substantial depth at the front, and a stiff back covered with wadding or padding. The envelope is then drawn over the frame 11 and spring assembly 12 of the seat back. rlhe front fabric 14E vof thelcushion' is preferably extended downwardly beyond the back fabric 15 thereof, so as to form a sewing edge 19. The assembly is then readyto recei've the finish slip 9, preferably provided with a sewing tab extension (not shown), iii the saine manner as the front fabric 14 of the cushion. The sewing tabs of the lcushion .5 and the finish slip 9 are together drawn tightly .across the bottom ofthe spring assembly and sewed tothe back fabric of the finish slip,

thus completing the uph-olstering of the seatv back.

In lieu of the pref-erred practice of sewing the cushion and i'ear padding to the fiber board toform a unitary structure as described above, a great economy maybe effected over the prevailing practice, by attaching marginal tabs of cloth (not shown), to the liber board'. TWith the liber board in place, the tabs or strips may be wrapped around the spring assembly or frame, and their free ends tacked to the fiber board to position this element. Instead of forming the assembly as described above, so that it constitutes a slip or enclosure, ,the cushion 5 may be laid over the front surface ofthe springs; Since the cushion is provided with a unpadded marginal portion, it provides a convenient tacking edge 19, which may be drawn about the outside margins of the spring assembly, and brought back to overlap the edges ofthe iiber board G., and tacked thereto. vIn this case the rear padding -element 7 may be positioned directly against .the fiber board and tackedv thereto at thesame time as the cushion 5, or may be temporarily positioned and permanently secured in place f upon application of the finish slip 9. A .cushion, such as 5, provided with a portion which may be utilized as a tacking edge, constitutes of itself, a marketable article for application according to the-method last described.

It will be seen that the last described method of tacking the cushion or pad 5 to the liber board 6, eliminates, over the old method, the separate steps of tacking a spring 'covering cloth to the liber board; eliminates placing the separate piece` of cloth over the springs; and does away withanyseparate handling of the filler'material, both at the front and around the sides of the spring assembly, as well as such tying as is ordinarily incident to the presence o-f the springs. Thus it is seen that the provision of the cushion or pad element alone, provided with a tacking edge such as 19, for securement thereof to the fiber board in the manner described, constitutes a novel article of manufacture which serves to eliminate several of the steps formerly necessary in upholsterii'ig seat backs of the class described.

With respect to the unitary structure, in the envelope form, it is apparentv from the mode of its attachment, that this unit'mini- Ainizes the time required for, `and the labor Vand waste incident to, the several operations and separate parts in use under the prevailing practice; of no less importance is the vastly improved upholstery job resulting from the use of my improved unit. Y

It will be understood that the use of an envelope of finishing material, open the bottom, constitutes in itself no part of the present invention. I may, however, secure substantial the finishing material tothe-cushion 5, the liberboard 6, and the rear padding 7, simultaneously, so 'as tofsecure the elements 5, 6,

7, and'9tog'ether, by sewing in-a single operation. I claim as my invention: f l f l. Apreformed upholstery unit for a chair back or the like, including a pad, astilfening element of 'brousmaterial marginally overlapped by'and stitched to said pad in enclosing rela-tion with a supportl between theipad and element, and means, carried. bythe padv tached to the ishaping element for retainingthe fpad and shaping element relative to the support. Uv v Y 3.V An upholstery pad adapted -to be applied as a preformed enveloping unit to be drawn over an article to be upholstered, the

`unit being formed of a fabric cover, ak filling material therein' adapted to extend over one side of the upholstered article, and a shaping fmember of relatively rigid, sheet material,

engagingthe opposite sider of the article, av

cushioning element-on said shaping member, means associated with the cover, confining the'filler at a distance inside a margin of the pad, and providing a fabric portion extending along 'they' margin beyond the filling material, and securing said cover to the shaping member, so as to forma pocket therebetween. y

4. A p-reformedupholstering pad constructed' as a tubular unit of oval section,

adapted to be drawn over a chair member, the unit being formed of front and rear ele- `ments of fibrous material, koneof said elements including a fabric cover of double thickness, and a ller between the thicknesses thereof;v an element of stiff sheet material,

spaced substantially7 from intermediate portions of vone of the fibrous elements, and forming therewith a preshaped, open end pocket for receiving the member to be upholstered;

means associated with said cover for confining' the filler at a distance inside the-margin ofthe said covered element, and providing a portion between the filler and the margin thereof, and combined means including 'saidlastlnamed portion, for attaching said fibrous elements to opposite sides of the stiffening element and securing the unit in enveloping relation to the article to beupholstered.

Y 5. In an upholstery unit adapted substani tially to enclose and be supported by a portion of an article to beupholstered, a pad, a

iibrous stiifening element of relatively flat, rigid material, and stitching extending through, and securing said pad and stifteninff element together in pre-shaped relation to form a space therebetween to receive said supportingA portion. i

6. ln an upholstery unit adapted to embrace, in self-supporting relation, a portion of an article tobe upholstered, a pad and a relatively stii element of brous material 1 secured lto each other and positioned relative tothe upholstered article by sewing together marginal portions of both the pad and element. Y

7. An upholstery unit including a relatively stiff element and a pad element on each side oi the stii element;l said elements having marginal portions secured together to forni-a pocket between a pair of the adjacent elements, for receiving` a. portion of an article to be upholstered.

8. An upholstery unit including` a rigid element, a relatively thin pad `on one side thereof, and a relatively thick cushion'pad on the opposite side thereof, said pads and element being stitched together along certain margins, the relatively thick pad and rigid element form-ing a case adapted to acco1n1nodate the frame of a chair back.

9. ln an upholstery unit adapted to enclose a portion of an article to be upholstered, a cushion element, and a cushion holding element formed of a relatively rigid sheet of reinforcing material, secured to the cushion ele- 9 ment; one of said elements being sevved to,

and preshaped by the other thereof, so as to embrace a side and a pair of the opposed margins of the portion to be upholstered.

HARRY J. BURKART. 

